Last week, I was interviewing Shark Hat drummer Mike Parillo over a beer at Indigo Smoke in Maplewood. I reminded him that he was The Man Who Saved Maplewoodstock '09. Mike deftly improvised through a power outage during the band's Maplewoodstock set last year with a spontaneous six-minute drum solo; keeping the groove alive until we could get the juice back on. The crowd loved it.

As the bar filled in, and he was piecing together an answer to the existential question, "Why do you play?", he stopped, set down his beer with authority, looked me in the eye, and said, "We just want to rock." 

Many bands express the same sentiment outwardly, but this quartet is quite a bit different. Shark Hat mixes rock, funk, blues, R&B and country, with a chemistry that makes you sit up and take notice (before you start dancing) with its acceleration, drive and energy. Attention must be paid.

"We play because we have no choice," said Parillo. "The four of us have found a meeting point for our musical interests, and we get so excited about this stuff that we want to share it with anyone who cares to listen."

Going strong for over 10 years ("longer than most marriages," Parillo quipped), they recorded their first, self-titled album in 2004. Since then, the band has focused  on constantly reinventing its sound, playing shows mostly in New Jersey, but with regular gigs at Sullivan Hall in NYC and The Perfect Wife in Manchester, Vermont. The Shark Hat II release is an all original collection that has all the hallmarks of their familiar razor-sharp ensemble.

Parillo recalls a date at B.B.King's as the bands' most memorable. "We were opening for Lena Koutrakis in October, 2005. Everyone was really listening." And there is much to hear. The group's influences include Dylan, the Band, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, and the Allman Brothers. And like the records of those greats, Shark Hat II CD was tracked live, in an effort to achieve a balanced "full-band performance," and not micro-managing the instrument bleed. "Unlike our first CD, Shark Hat II features minimal overdubs," stressed Parillo.

Shark Hat recognizes the strength of the sum of their parts, and manages to rehearse at least once a week, despite all four members having day jobs and one member living in D.C. (Parillo is an editor for Modern Drummer by day). They are all self-taught and self-motivated, and share the powerful goal of simply building their audience and immersing themselves in the process. Two songs from their debut CD, "Loftus Leftus" and "Right Way," appear in a new feature film, a comedy called Made for Each Other, featuring Danny and Christopher Masterson. At present, Shark Hat is unsigned and sells music at shows and through iTunes and CD Baby.

Shark Hat is:

Kevin McDonald, guitar/vocals

Enzo Ricci, guitar/vocals

Steve Leroy, bass/vocals

Michael Parillo, drums/vocals

Hear their next set at the next Battle of the Basement Bands, Saturday, January 23, 7 p.m.-midnight at Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange. All proceeds support the Community Foodbank of NJ.

This week, Patch is profiling the five Battle of the Basement Bands contestants. Besides Shark Hat, Patch will also be featuring 3rd Gear, Felt, Juicebox and Dark Horse.